Final Fantasy VII: The Anime Series
by Jorus C'baoth
Summary: An anime adaptation of the iconic video game. Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart are Japanese high school students thrown into a war when AVALANCHE attacks a Mako Reactor. Contains a mix of original and adapted material. NOTE: Reuploaded chapters 1 and 2, with minor edits.
1. The Sector Eight Reactor

_Tokyo, Japan. Midgar District. It was fifteen years ago that the Shin-Ra Electric Power Company took complete control of this oft-overlooked part of the city. Using their newly invented Mako Reactors, they separated the district and made it completely self-sufficent. Almost as if to gloat about their success, they renamed the district "The Promised Land", after old Cetra legends from hundreds of years ago._

**-Today-**

The bell had run, and all thirty students rushed into the classroom, except for one. His pace was very nonchalant, and his entire look very unkempt. His blonde hair was spiked up; his school uniform was unbuttoned, revealing the plain white tee-shirt he was wearing underneath; and he wore a silver lion's head on a necklace chain. He slung his book bag over one shoulder, and both hands were stuffed in his pockets. The look on his face was one of boredom. He slumped down into his seat in the back row after everyone else had already sat down.

A girl two seats away from him lowered her head in disappointment. She was almost the exact opposite of the boy. Her hair was tied neatly into a ponytail which hung down to her waist. Her uniform was very neat and tidy, her blouse stretched across a bosom which was the envy of almost every girl in the class, and the arouser of every boy. She sat at her desk, very ready for the day's studies. She pitied the boy, wishing he'd cheer up at least once in his life.

The boy looked at the rain striking the window and longed for something... something he couldn't name.

_(Opening Sequence Music: Starlight Speedway by Rocket Ship Resort)_

**-Final Fantasy VII-**

**-The Anime Series-**

**-Episode 1-**

**-The Sector Eight Reactor-**

The charges were ready. Barret Wallace and his three compatriots, Jessie Shinkawa, Biggs Ishimura and Wedge Kurosawa were all gearing up to get off the train as soon as it stopped in Sector Eight. Their plan was simple: blow up the Sector Eight Mako Reactor. Barret knew it was going to be anything _but_ simple. The Reactor would be heavily guarded, and there was a good chance that robo-guards would be in place.

Barret picked his assault rifle from their weapons crate and checked the magazine. Twenty-eight rounds, two left out to avoid jamming. Jessie shouldered the bag with the charges, then slung her rifle over shoulder. Biggs and Wedge each grabbed their weapons and their respective equipment. Biggs was their tech officer and Wedge was back-up.

When all was said and done, at least AVALANCHE _looked_ like a band of scrappy revolutionaries.

No words were spoken when the train came to a stop at the Sector Eight station. Barret used hand signals to communicate with his team. He held up his hand, fingers spread, then made a fist when the train stopped. Jessie and Biggs moved first, taking out the two Shin-Ra guards at the station exit. Dozens of people ran and more than a few hid underneath benches and inside kiosks. A different hand sign told Wedge it was time for them to exit the train.

Still, no words were spoken as the group of four made their way through the station, taking out the Shin-Ra guards that appeared in their way. No heavy reinforcements were called in, making Barret very uneasy. Still, he was grateful for the temporary ease of the situation. He had no doubts that the robo-guards were on their way.

Once the ragtag group were out of the station, Jessie and Wedge fired a group of rounds into the air, sending hundreds of civilians away in fear, and earning the AVALANCHE crew some Shin-Ra reinforcements. Bullets peppered the ground around them as a group of two dozen soldiers entered the small, courtyard-like area the station had led out into. No words, Barret looked at Biggs and pointed to his own mouth. Biggs knew exactly what to do: he took a grenade from his pouch and threw it at the group of soldiers, killing a few and knocking some lucky ones unconscious thanks to all the shrapnel.

This kept up as the group made their way through the Sector, toward the Reactor.

111

Cloud Strife dumped his book bag on the bench outside the school and practically fell down onto it himself. He hated school. It was probably because he'd never wanted to go in the first place. Midgar Central in Sector Eight was the best school in all of Japan, and he was only there because of his best friend's parents. Mr. and Mrs. Lockhart didn't have to pay his way in. He really wished they hadn't.

He yawned, so very bored. The bus was always late. Why he thought today would be any different, he didn't know, but, for some reason, he was hoping that it would show up on time for once. He wanted to get to a seat before Tifa got out to the bus. No doubt she was going to give him one of her famous talks.

Cloud heard an explosion, from somewhere. Lazily, he looked in the direction of the sound and saw a group of four people in a tight grouping firing machine guns at a group of Shin-Ra troops. _What the hell?_ he thought, grabbing his book bag and sprinting toward the action taking place.

111

Minutes later, Tifa Lockhart stormed out of the school, looking for Cloud in what would normally be a large mass of students waiting for their buses. Instead, she saw absolutely no one, and the automatic weapons fire she heard seconds later told her exactly why. She looked around and saw Cloud at the edge of the street, just standing there.

"What's going on?!" she nearly screamed when she got to him.

He didn't answer at first, and then he suddenly turned toward her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Tifa, get out of here!"

"What's going on?" she repeated the question.

"I don't know, but these four guys are getting shot at by a bunch of Shin-Ra soldiers. Get back inside, now!"

She wrestled herself from his grasp and shook her head. "No! Not without _you_!"

"Tifa, I mean it, _get away!_"

"Cloud Strife, I'm not leaving unless you come too!"

Cloud scowled at her, but nodded.

111

When the AVALANCHE group made it to the Reactor, Barret expected a dozen or more robo-guards to be waiting for them. Somehow, though, the area was completely empty. _Almost like they want us to do this._ He loaded another magazine into his assault rifle and steeled himself for what they were going to find on the inside.

Finally, he broke their silence and said to his team: "When we get in there, we don't stop running. We get to the core and set the charges, then we get the hell outta there, got that, you little bastards?" All of them nodded in acknowledgement.

With the silent equivalent of a rebel yell, the four of them started running toward the core. They kept each other out of their firing lines, Barret and Jessie focusing only on the soldiers in front while Biggs and Wedge focused only on the ones off to their sides.

Barret found it _so_ hard to believe that they were finally about to destroy one of Shin-Ra's reactors. It was almost a ten year old dream come true. _Dyne, you'd love to see this, I'm sure._

Then, it all came crashing down.

111

Cloud didn't know when in the sprint from the school to the Reactor that he'd dropped his book bag, but he didn't really care either. He'd rather ditch Tifa, keep her out of harm's way, but she was adamant that he not be out of her sight.

Once they reached the Reactor, Cloud saw dozens of bodies litering the entrance hall. He stopped Tifa just as she caught up to him and shielded her eyes. "I don't want you to see this. Lot'sa dead bodies."

"Cloud, we've been following a bunch of dead bodies to get here, what am I gonna see that I haven't—" She cut herself off when he removed his hand and the mass of dead bodies before them was revealed. "Oh," she said, quieter than a whisper.

Cloud spotted a sword next to one of the bodies. It was an odd sight, but not an unwelcome one. He was suddenly grateful that he'd decided on sword lessons instead of piano lessons. "C'mon, just stay behind me."

111

Barret had never felt pain as bad as this before in his life. He held the bloody stump that was his right wrist after one of the robo-guards had severed his hand. Jessie and Biggs kept the beast at bay, but it was clearly difficult for them to do so. Wedge was unconscious beside him. The writing was on the wall—they were dead.

The robo-guard was ten feet high, in the shape of a scorpion. Its tail fired a concentrated laser beam, which Jessie and Biggs just barely managed to dodge, a large chunk of the wall sizzled in its wake. No matter how many bullets Jessie and Biggs put into it, it didn't allow itself to be stopped. It powered through their attack, doing its best to kill them in the process.

Just as Barret closed his eyes and prepared for the death he was certain was about to happen, AVALANCHE's collective prayer was answered. Someone—no older than fifteen—jumped on the mechanical beast's back and sliced off the robot's tail with a Shin-Ra guard's sword. The boy then jammed his sword down into the robot's head. The beast came down, the boy pulled out his sword, and once he was a good five feet away from it, the robo-guard's head exploded.

111

Tifa peeked out around the doorway and saw that Cloud was, miraculously, still alive. The group of terrorists that they'd followed into the Reactor were all still alive, too. It was the strangest thing she'd ever seen.

Of course, neither she nor Cloud should have ever been there. She ran inside and surveyed the carnage all around them. It wasn't long before both she and Cloud had machine guns pointed directly at their faces. Cloud raised his sword, but he couldn't be stupid enough to think that he could deflect bullets with it.

Could he?

"Get out of here, kid," a tall man with solid black hair commanded.

"I just saved you guys, in case you forgot," Cloud said through gritted teeth.

"I said _get out of here!_"

The one Tifa assumed was the leader stood up, blood dripping from what had once been his right hand. "Biggs, Jessie! Lower your weapons!"

Tifa pushed past Clound and walked toward the team's leader. At first, the last terrorist raised his rifle at her, but his boss pushed it out of her face. "Your arm," she said, "we've got to stop the bleeding before you pass out."

"Just bandage it," the boss said, "I'll take care of the rest." He turned to the woman who was still keeping a close eye on Cloud. "Jessie, get those charges set." The woman nodded and kneeled down by the Reactor core. "We're leaving in twenty seconds. Kid, you got a name?" he asked Cloud.

"Cloud Strife."

"And you?" he asked Tifa.

"Tifa Lockhart."

"You two have just become honorary members of AVALANCHE."

111

Cloud cursed under his breath. He wanted more to life than boring school work that he didn't even deserve, but joining a terrorist organization who was about to blow up the Reactor? A terrorist organization that needed a fifteen year old kid to save their asses from a practically brain dead robo-guard? This didn't seem to be a good idea.

The leader introduced himself as Barret Wallace, and the three goons were Jessie (the only woman), Biggs (thin guy with black hair and a red bandanna) and Wedge (chubby guy with a surprising amount of muscle). They didn't seem to be the best terrorists in the world, as far as Cloud was concerned.

"I don't know if you noticed, but we're just high school kids," Cloud said to Wallace, who was leading them out of the Reactor. "We're way too young to be involved with... you guys."

"We don't pick our fights, spikey," Wallace commanded, "we just do what we have to, to save the planet."

Tifa elbowed Cloud lightly in the arm. "What are you doing?" she whispered to him.

"This isn't our fight, Tifa."

"I'd say it is now, wouldn't you? Do you really think we can just go back to school like this?"

"Well, no, but I—"

"Besides, I thought you _hated_ school."

"Well, I do, but—"

"So, see? Doesn't this work out better for you?"

"No, actually, dying for a cause I accidentally bumped into sounds _way_ worse."

Jessie tapped Cloud on the shoulder. "You know I can hear you, right?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, I just... well..."

She smiled. "I understand, Cloud. We didn't mean to drag you two into this, but we can't change what's happened." The group stopped at the entrance corridor that had been turned into a graveyard. There still weren't any guards besides the bodies. "Besides," she whispered in his ear, "I think you're kinda cute."

Cloud could _feel_ himself blushing, but that went away when he turned toward Tifa, who was scowling at him. "Oh, so when _I_ say that we're stuck here, you wanna run, but when _she_ says it, you're suddenly a team player? Cloud Strife, you are a pig."

"I wa... I mean I..." _Oh, screw it,_ he thought.

Barret turned to Wedge. "Got the detonator ready?" Wedge nodded silently. "Good, blow it."

_(Ending Sequence Music: The Worst Day Since Yesterday by Flogging Molly)_

**-Final Fantasy VII-**

**-The Anime Series-**

**-Next Episode-**

Great, so now Tifa and I are stuck in AVALANCHE, and the cops are after us. Luckily, they have a secret base in Sector Seven, but that's not all, turns out everything Tifa and I ever knew about the planet doesn't even come close to what's out there. What did I do to get stuck in this situation?

Next time on Final Fantasy VII,

**-Episode 2: AVALANCHE-**


	2. AVALANCHE

_Tokyo, Japan. Midgar District. It was fifteen years ago that the Shin-Ra Electric Power Company took complete control of this oft-overlooked part of the city. Using their newly invented Mako Reactors, they separated the district and made it completely self-sufficent. Almost as if to gloat about their success, they renamed the district "The Promised Land", after old Cetra legends from hundreds of years ago._

**-Today-**

They ran. The sirens kept getting closer and closer. The girl followed her best friend, though neither of them knew to where. They were following someone else. The boy was uncertain if even the one they followed knew where they were going.

Suddenly, they found themselves near the train station, and the boy was more than a little worried about where they'd go next, but their leader wasn't the least bit worried. Despite the loss of his hand, he was very calm.

"Get on," he said, his gruff voice

"What?" the boy asked.

"I said 'get on'. We're takin' the train."

The boy listened to the sirens for a second, knowing that their leader was right: they needed to get on the train. His friend looked scared, and uncertain. He nodded to her, and then helped her up into the boxcar of the train.

As the train sped off, away from Sector Eight, the boy wondered if they'd made the right decision.

_(Opening Sequence Music: Starlight Speedway by Rocket Ship Resort)_

**-Final Fantasy VII-**

**-The Anime Series-**

**-Episode 2-**

**-AVALANCHE-**

The six of them sat around the boxcar, not really making any noise or even doing anything. Barret sat atop a box, nursing his bandaged arm. Jessie was absent-mindedly tinkering with a box full of wires. Biggs was munching on a nutrient bar. Wedge was munching on fried chicken (apparently he kept some with him, Cloud learned). Cloud and Tifa sat beside one another. Cloud put his arm around Tifa, and she nuzzled up beside him.

_Why am I here?_ Cloud asked himself, not for the first time since he and Tifa had run across the AVALANCHE group. He was just your average high school kid, had no reason to be in a terrorist organization, blowing the shit out of a Mako Reactor. He should have just gone home, to where Tifa's parents provided him a bedroom and a place for breakfast every morning.

The thought of Tifa's parents made him feel worse. For all intents and purposes, he'd kidnapped their daughter. Yes, he told her to go, but it was his fault that she was there. They'd probably never let him in their home again. _Good work, Cloud, you done screwed up everything_.

"Hey, Barret," he said, causing the large man to look in his direction, "what about Tifa and me? Do we just stay with you?"

"Where else you gonna go, kid? Shin-Ra knows you two were there, too. They'll be comin' after you. Your folks are probably bein' locked up as we speak. Her's too."

Cloud looked down at his feet. "Mine aren't a problem."

"Why's that?"

He looked back up at Barret. "Because they're dead. I've lived with Tifa and her family for seven years."

"Cloud!" Tifa said with a commanding tone. "Everything you keep telling him keeps us stuck with them!"

"You was already stuck with us the second you showed up at the Reactor," Barret said, stuffing a cigarette in his mouth, "and that was your choice."

Cloud lowered his head. _That figures._ He held Tifa a little closer.

He had never considered himself her boyfriend, nor had he really wanted to be. He liked girls, but dating just seemed... unnecessary. Yes, that went against conventional high school thinking 100%, but it was still what he believed, and he would always believe that. He wasn't sure if Tifa thought the same way, but she had never had a boyfriend, almost as if she was waiting for him.

"You two!" Barret shouted in their direction. "Get into the passenger cars and clear a way for us."

Cloud helped Tifa to her feet and led her through the door to the passenger car just ahead of them. They looked at all the skeezy, worn-down people slumped in the seats, crawling on the floor, or just standing there. _Oh...kay..._ He squeezed past a guy in a tank top with spiked up black and red hair, who grabbed for his leg as he passed.

Tifa squeezed through with aprehension. He reached out and took her hand, hoping to give her some sense of security, though he could tell by the trembling in her fingers that it wasn't going to happen. Together, they reached the front of the car and checked the second one. That one was empty, aside from one man in a business suit.

"Go sit down in there, I'll go get Barret and the rest."

"Don't take too long," she said, worry in her voice. He nodded.

111

Tifa sat down in a seat, near the man in the business suit. She felt nervous, extremely nervous. She rubbed at her hands to get them to stop shaking, but she wasn't shaking due to cold. She didn't want to be on the train, she wanted to be at home. Before they'd destroyed the Reactor, she'd wanted to help, but now that they were being chased by the police, and that her parents were in danger, she wished she could have taken her choice back.

Cloud wasn't back yet. What was taking him so long? She hugged her knees to her chest and waited for the rest of the team. The business man glanced over at her every now and again, but otherwise did nothing.

"Who are you?" he finally asked.

"I'm... just a student at Midgar Central."

"Why did your boyfriend leave you here alone?"

"He's not... To go get our friends."

Tifa looked back at the door. Cloud still wasn't back. What was going on back there?

111

Barret kept his foot on the face of the spikey red-and-black haired guy. "I told you to leave us the hell alone, dickweed!"

"I just want the girls!"

Cloud looked over his shoulder at Jessie. "It might be a good idea for you to get into the next car. Tifa's back there already."

"Uh... yeah... Thanks, Cloud."

111

Tifa heard the door open and saw Jessie walking in. "There's a bit of a fight going on back there," she said, sitting down beside her. "You're lucky you're in here, sister." She lightly punched Tifa on the shoulder. "So, what's going on in here?"

"Excuse me, who are you?" the business man asked.

"I'm Tifa's older sister, Jessie, why?"

He held up his hands in defense. "Just asking."

_Thank you, Jessie. At least you're here._ "Where's Cloud?" Tifa asked.

Jessie answered, "Helping Barret out. This creepy guy tried to grab me in the last car."

"That car is full of all the scum from the slums," the business man said.

Jessie opened her mouth as if to say something. Anticipating that it was something about growing up in the slums, Tifa shook her head. She closed her mouth, saying nothing for a moment before saying, "Well, that doesn't mean they're not people."

"Oh, they're people? I always thought they were _scum_. They don't have the good sense to turn their lives around."

"Some of them can't," Tifa said.

"Oh, please."

The door came open, suddenly, with Barret, Cloud, Biggs and Wedge walking in. The look on the business man's face was priceless, as he saw that, aside from Cloud, the group of them looked like they came from the slums.

"Oh, dear..."

111

Cloud stared at the monitor by the door, noticing the dot that kept moving on the wireframe model of Midgar. "Oh!" He turn his head and saw Jessie standing there. "You're looking at the train's route on the map."

"That what this is? Huh. I ride the train every day, and I've never noticed this before."

"That's because they're only in the two front cars. First class."

"Oh. So, where are we going, anyway?"

"Sector Seven."

"The chief slum!" Business Suit said, almost cheering it out.

"You got sumthin' against the slums, mister business suit?" Barret asked.

"Yeah, they're full of scum, like you all."

Barret grabbed Business Suit by the collar and pulled him to eye level. "I ain't no scum, jackass! I'm just fightin' to keep the Planet alive!"

"Y-y-y-you're the terrorists who just blew up the Reactor!"

Cloud got in between them. "Uh, no, we're not! Barret's just... extremely protective. Y'see, Shin-Ra kinda took land from him to build some of Midgar, and he hasn't been happy about it since."

_Where the hell did I come up with that?_ Cloud asked himself. _Oh well, keep it going!_

"Yeah," Barret said, his voice calmer than before, "they took my land. That's all."

"See? We're not terrorists. You think we'd be on a public train if we were terrorists?" Cloud asked the man, hoping rationality would prevail.

111

When they were finally off the train, at the Sector Seven Station, Barret slapped Cloud on the back. "Good job, Spikey."

Cloud stopped walking. "For what?"

Barret stopped and turned to face him. "That guy's probably gonna head to the cops right away and tell 'em all about us."

"Funny, you don't seem too concerned."

Barret smiled. "You're about to see why."

Barret led them through the city, sticking to alley ways and side streets. Eventually, they came upon the back door to a two story building. Above the door was a sign that read _"7th Heaven"_. Barret knocked twice, then waited a moment, then knocked a third time. On the third knock, a man as fat as Barret was muscular opened the door and waved them inside.

As Cloud and Tifa stepped through the door, the man held out his hand to stop them. "Kids?"

Barret nodded. "Let 'em in. They helped us at the Reactor."

The man lowered his hand and the two of them walked inside. He closed the door behind them, then locked it. "So, who's the new blood?" He looked directly at Tifa's chest. "Starting with this angel."

Tifa slid behind Cloud, out of the man's sight. "Her name's Tifa," Cloud answered, his voice taking on a defensive tone.

"Tifa, huh? She's a pretty one, her."

"My name's Cloud."

"Yeah, I'll forget your name, kid, but Tifa... Her's I'll remember." A smile crossed his face. "Who can forget a rack like that?"

Cloud felt his hands ball up into fists. "What'd you say?"

"Jesus, kid! You're actin' like they're _your_ tits I'm talkin' about!" The man let out a laugh that was followed very closely by a burp. "Nothin' wrong with ooglin' a pretty girl!"

Barret stepped between Cloud and the man. "Spikey, follow Jessie downstairs to the safehouse, take Tifa with you."

"All right," Cloud said, though gritted teeth. He took Tifa's hand and slowly led her down the hallway that Jessie and the rest of the gang had gone through.

111

Barret watched the kids descend the stairs into the basement. After they were out of earshot, he turned to Tsuzuku and hit him in the back of the head with an open palm. "You touch that girl, your ass ain't gonna have a prayer, you get me?"

"C'mon, Barret! I'm a lonely, lonely man, and that girl is mighty damn pretty."

"I didn't pull your ass outta Corel Prison just so you could prove you're a damn pedophile!"

Tsuzuku scowled. "Nah, I don't reckon you did."

"Look, they'll be after us soon, I'm goin' downstairs." Barret held up one finger. "I hear you doin' shit to that girl, you ain't gonna like it."

111

Cloud and Tifa were led down into the basement, where a pool table, a Pac-Man machine, two jukeboxes and a slot machine were being stored. Jessie walked over to the Pac-Man machine and pulled off the screen. She flipped a switch, then replaced the screen. A panel opened on the floor, revealing a ladder that led even further down. "This way," she said.

In turn, Biggs went down first, then Wedge, then Jessie, then Cloud, then Tifa. When Tifa got below the panel, Barret arrived and followed them down. He flipped a switch underneath the panel and it shut once again, hiding itself from prying eyes.

Once they were all in the safehouse, Barret flipped another switch and turned on the lights. Cloud looked around the room and saw that it was very... well... he couldn't put hit to words. In one corner was a TV, computer and several game consoles all haphazardly fused together into a very strange creation. In the opposite corner were two refridgerators, one of which was so full that it wouldn't shut. Directly across the room from that was a group of lockers. Opposite the lockers was a set of punching bags. A table sat in the center of the room, dividing it into fourths. Clearly, the personalities of the AVALANCHE members dominated the room.

"Welcome to home, kids," Barret said, walking over to the punching bags. Jessie walked over to the computer. Biggs slid across the table and started spotting Barret. Wedge sat down at the refridgerators. Cloud and Tifa both stood at the ladder, blank expressions on their faces. "Well, whaddya waitin' for? Pick out a spot and start thinkin' about what you're gonna personalize it with!"

111

Tifa walked over to Jessie, who was currently running through a series of designs on her computer. Several of them looked like bombs, though a few of them were for fake IDs. "So... what's this stuff?" she asked.

Jessie spun around in her chair. "I'm going through the bomb designs."

"So, you made the bomb we blew up the Sector Eight Reactor with?"

"Yeah. It's a hobby of mine. I make stuff. Bombs, computers... anything technological." She looked away for a second, then looked back at Tifa. "We should get you changed into something other than that school uniform. Cloud, too. If that guy on the train went to the cops, they'll be looking for two highschool kids, too."

Tifa looked down at her uniform. She hadn't even been thinking about it. "But, I don't have anything else to wear."

Jessie stood up. "Follow me." She walked over to the locker, then opened two of the doors. Tifa walked up behind her and saw that the lockers led into another room. Jessie turned on the lights, showing Tifa that the whole room was a locker room, not unlike one you'd see in a high school. Jessie walked to one with her name on it and opened it up, pulling out a plain white shirt and a solid black denim skirt. "The shirt might be a little too tight, but it should still fit."

"Thanks. Now, what about Cloud?"

"Biggs should have something for him in his locker. I'll bring him in when you're done getting changed. Come out when you're done, okay?"

Tifa nodded. "Thanks, again." Jessie walked out of the locker room and shut the door behind her. Tifa looked down at the outfit she held in her hands and then set to work changing her clothes. The skirt had fit perfectly, but as Jessie said, the shirt was too tight. While it would have fit Jessie just right, it left Tifa's midrif exposed. "Oh yay, Cloud's gonna go crazy. Come to think of it, so's that skeezy guy upstairs."

111

Cloud was standing at the entrance to the locker room when Tifa walked out. She stood there, quite shyly, her hands clasped behind her back. She had cut her hair some, and had undone her ponytail. The shirt Jessie had given her covered only from her shoulders to just under her breasts, and the skirt ended about six inches above her knees. She wore the same shoes as before, but her feet were somewhat smaller than Jessie's anyway.

_Um... wow! She looks good enough in her school uniform. I've never seen Tifa wear anything this sexy before._

"Cloud? My eyes are up here," Tifa said, softly, making Cloud realize that he had actually been staring at her breasts.

"Wha—uh, yeah! Um... and they're really pretty, too..." Cloud nervously laughed and started rubbing at the back of his neck. _Good work, dumbass, why don't you just tell her you've got a hard on while you're at it?_

111

Ten minutes later, Cloud emerged from the locker room feeling slightly ridiculous. The clothes he got from Biggs were a pair of purple sweatpants, a black tank top, and a purple sweater with the sleeves cut off. "Thanks a lot, Biggs," Cloud said, trying to lay on as much sarcasm as he could.

Biggs held up his hands in a _so what_-kind of way. "Look kid, it's my least favorite pair of pants and a sweater that some chick I was screwing last week bought me. I just cut off the sleeves."

"Y'all done with your fashion show?" Barret asked from the other side of the room. He stood up from his chair and held up his right hand, only instead of the stump it had been before, there was now a minigun. "It's about time we got ready for our next mission."

"Already?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah. AVALANCHE made a name for itself with the Sector Eight Reactor." He picked up a remote and turned on the TV in the corner.

"That's right, Shinji, in a surprising and devestating act of violence, the Sector Eight Reactor was destroyed this afternoon by a terrorist organization known as AVALANCHE. No one has stepped forward claiming themselves to be AVALANCHE, but Sector Eight was put on lockdown just moments ago by Mayor Domino, in hopes that the terrorists are still hiding out within that section of the city. To prepare for another attack, security has been doubled in the other seven Reactors."

Barret turned off the TV and set the remote back down. "That means we're gonna have a lot harder time gettin' in to the Sector Five Reactor."

Tifa asked, "Why not just attack the Sector Seven Reactor, since we're right here?"

Jessie answered, "We don't want them to know where we are, so we're attacking Reactor's at random. Hopefully, it distracts them."

"So," Cloud said, "it's about time I finally asked this: how will blowing up Reactors save the planet?"

"You born and raised in Midgar, Spikey?"

"Yeah."

"So, only thing you seen of the outside world was what they show you in school?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because, if you'd seen the world outside this city's walls, you'd know exactly why we're tryin' to destroy Shin-Ra's special Reactors." He walked over to Cloud and looked directly at him. "The world outside these walls is a mishmash of wastelands and grasslands, all on account of Shin-Ra suckin' up the planet's life blood."

_(Ending Sequence Music: The Worst Day Since Yesterday by Flogging Molly)_

**-Final Fantasy VII-**

**-The Anime Series-**

**-Next Episode-**

Now that Tifa and I know the truth, we're in this for the long haul. But first, we're going to have to take out the Sector Five Reactor, and that'll be tough enough. Not only that, but word has it that President Shinra himself will be at the Reactor. We'll not only be taking out another Reactor, we may be killing the man responsible for it all.

Next time on Final Fantasy VII,

**-Episode 3: Sector Five, Where Our Fates Lead Us-**


End file.
